


like a cat

by destinyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, Humor, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 22:58:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18291932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/destinyeol/pseuds/destinyeol
Summary: After his friends return from touring, Jongin has the mission to introduce them to his new cat and his new boyfriend.Problem is: his new boyfriend can turn into his new cat, thanks to magic. Surely nothing could go wrong.





	like a cat

**Author's Note:**

> my best friend made me realize catboy sehun is valid. he really is. stan aoa!
> 
> sorry for any mistakes @-@ WILL CORRECT THEM ASAP

**i.**

His entire life, he has been a dog person.

Jongin _loves_ dogs. For as long as he could remember, he’s loved dogs - his companions have always been them. He has four dogs at home, and he’s probably the last person anyone would consider to be a _cat_ person.

That might explain why all his friends are so shocked when they see the small, extremely cute, and orange cat licking his paws on top of one of his bookshelves.

Taemin looks extremely put-off by this, even though Jongin has had this little friend for two months or so. He grins though, standing on his tippy toes and reaching out for the cat.  As expected, the cat is eager for affection, so he basically leaps to Taemin’s arms.

“Oof,” Taemin laughs, caressing the cat gently - or, gently, in his own Taemin way. “You’re a cat person now? What’s his name?”

“Sehun,” Jongin replies, putting a mug of cocoa for him and Taemin on the breakfast stool. Taemin walks over and sits down, cat on his lap like he belongs there. Jongin pouts. He thought his lap was the best one. “I’m not a cat person -” Sehun meows, or rather, _whines_ , which makes Taemin laugh. “ - but I really like this cat!”

“How did this even happen?” Taemin takes a sip of his mug, humming contentedly. Sehun purrs on his lap, happy that he’s happy. “I go on tour for _one time_ and you get yourself a cat.”

 _And a boyfriend,_  he wants to add, but perhaps Taemin needs a while to recover from the shock of  Jongin having a cat. Surely those news weighed more than him having a boyfriend.

“It’s just,” Jongin pouts, “it was a really rainy day! And I found him outside the building. So I just - I couldn’t leave him! So I picked him up. Now he lives with me!”

“Isn’t it against the building to own pets? I thought that’s why you couldn’t bring your dogs with you.”

Yeah, it is against the building. The only reason Jongin is allowed to have a cat is because the cat is a human, just sometimes turns into a cat for reasons Jongin can’t really explain. So as far as the owner knows, Jongin’s new roommate is Sehun, the human, not Sehun, the cat.

“Well, what my landlord doesn’t know won’t kill him,” he laughs, causing Taemin to join in. “Do you like him?”

“He’s a fluffy friend,” Taemin brings Sehun up, nuzzling his cheek with his. “He’s so cute. I love him. What was his name? Sehun?”

“He likes Sehunnie best,” Jongin says.

Taemin holds Sehun in front of him, probably not in the best way he should hold a cat, but hey, it’s Taemin. “I love you, Sehunnie. Do you love me? Do you like me? I’m your owner’s best friend!” He turns his head to the side to stare at Jongin. “Ah, do you think he understands me?”

Oh, he does. He really does. Sehun would probably complain about Taemin later, pretending he didn’t like being nuzzled or pet, and being really embarrassed that he gave in to the gentle treatments.

“He does,” Jongin smiles. “He’s not the smartest, but he understands things! I love him!”

Sehun growls. Jongin was excited - he couldn’t wait for human Sehun to come back and start annoying him about how _dare_ he say he wasn’t smart in front of his friends.

“Such a good boy,” Taemin says, putting Sehun back on his lap. “Oh, wait, that’s what you say to dogs. I - I don’t know. Such a good cat?”

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Jongin pats him.

They fall into the normal conversation that doesn’t involve Jongin’s new cat - Taemin’s new tour, Jongin’s job, the choreographies he’s been working on for new trainees, etc. Unlike Taemin, Jongin had decided to work behind the curtains -  he realized he felt more comfortable working as a mentor and helping the artists in the company with their choreographies and in anything they needed.

It just… got lonely, at times. Taemin was back after a month of being overseas, but the rest of his friends were still busy - all he got sometimes was random facetimes when they were free, but no actual friendship hangouts had happened in a _while_.

Maybe that’s why Sehun decided to come into his life.

It was quite funny - picking up a stray cat getting wet in the rain, putting him inside his coat so no one would see him, and after making sure he was all okay and dry, falling asleep with it.

...Only to wake up with an entire human being cuddled up to his chest.

It was quite the wild morning.

“I’m glad you have Sehunnie now,” Taemin says after they finish talking, a bit apologetic. “Now that the tour is over, I’m going to be around a _lot_ again so you don’t miss me.”

Jongin perks up immensely. “That’s going to be great! Do you want to go out for lunch tomorrow?”

Sehun makes a noise from his lap. Oh, yeah, they have a date tomorrow.

“I’m free on Wednesday,” Taemin says instead. “Tomorrow I need to visit more people and give them their gifts.”

“Sounds perfect,” Jongin grabs Sehun again, as Taemin stands up and dusts off his clothes for any type of fur. “I’ll see you on Wednesday. Call me when you get home!”

“Yes, as usual,” he leans down to pet Sehun. “Bye bye, Sehunnie! It was great to meet you! Bye, Jonginnie!”

He waves at his friend and makes Sehun wave at him with his paw. He’s so cute.

“Did you like Taemin? I’ve talked about him before, right?” Sehun does an affirmative meow. He stares at the clock. Half an hour more and Sehun would turn back into a human. “Well, see, told you he’s great. He seems to like you a lot.”

Sehun jumps to the table in the middle of their lounge. He makes himself comfortable and rests there, slowly licking his paws again.

“Do you have any preference for dinner tonight?”

Sehun meows.

“See, I’m craving chinese. I might just order take-out. You in? Want something else, Sehunnie?”

Sehun shakes his tail. That’s a no, alright.

While Jongin waits for the food to arrive, he settles on the sofa. Sehun jumps into his lap, demanding the headpats and Jongin being _him,_ knows exactly what the cat loves. Soon enough he’s melting, and if he was a human now, he’d be smiling contentedly. He can picture his face perfectly.

He doesn’t have to, because ten minutes later, the very dramatic transformation happens - he closes his eyes from the light coming out of cat Sehun, and before he knows it, there is a whole human Sehun settled on his lap.

Sehun _always_ feels awkward when he finally transforms back. His grin spreads across his face, big, blinding, and awfully embarrassed.

“Hi,” Jongin says.

“Hey,” Like an idiot, he removes himself from Jongin’s lap. Like he doesn’t rest there even as a human.

“Do you remember three hours ago? When I told you to give me back my sock but you just ran off?”

“...Maybe…”

“...Where is it now?”

Sehun stays silent, cheeks growing redder.

“Sehunnie,” he presses gently, holding his hand.

“Behind the toilet!”

Jongin stares at him. “...And why did you do that?”

“I… I don’t know,” Sehun shrugs, pouting, and folding his legs beneath him on the sofa. He tugs at his hoodie and pulls it up, somehow trying to hide himself. “I just. Thought it’d be nice. Not a big deal.”

Jongin sighs. “I’m gonna need to clean that very well. Why do you do that, really,” he laughs softly.

“Whatever. When is food arriving?”

“Soon,” Jongin turns to look at him properly. He’s trying still to hide himself inside his hoodie. “Are you embarrassed?”

“No.”

Jongin pulls him close again, grabbing his hood and giving him one kiss on his cheek. “Don’t be! It’s not like we’re strangers!”

“But -” Sehun sighs. “ _Ah_. You don’t get it.”

“I’m sure your cat thoughts are more complicated than I think, Sehunnie. Nothing wrong with that.”

Sehun, whether he’s a human or a cat, is always clingy. It’s a win for Jongin when he finally stops being embarrassed and leans against him, putting his head on his chest as Jongin puts an arm around him.

“Promise next time I won’t do that,” Sehun says.

“I don’t believe you, but it’s okay. Love you.”

Sehun is about to get embarrassed _again,_  so he distracts him by gently stroking his sides. Even as a human, he really was such a cute cat.

Funnily enough, when they’re having dinner is when Sehun makes the question that would haunt Jongin for the rest of the year.

“What if Taemin comes over and sees me as a human?” He asks after he swallows his bite. “Do I just make a fake name? I can’t lie forever.”

“No, you can’t,” Jongin puts down his chopsticks, sad pout forming. “Ah, really! I wanted to introduce you as my boyfriend to him! What do I even say?”

“What if he asks why you never see me with the cat? This is complicated,” Sehun’s eyes are comically wide. He looks like he’s about to laugh, which he probably will - this situation is quite a mess.

“It’s okay,” Jongin smiles, “we’ll figure it out!”

Sehun, positive as ever, beams back at him and they keep eating.

They will _not_ figure it out.

**ii.**

After Taemin, Wonshik is the second of his friends who comes back from tour.

The thing is, he shows up as a surprise for Jongin, who in another occasion would’ve loved it. He loves surprises! And absolutely nothing would’ve been better than his other best friend showing up at the doorstep with his arms wide open.

Except that  Jongin was showering when he arrived, so the only person who could tend to the door was Sehun, who might or might have not panicked and immediately introduced himself as Jongin’s boyfriend, which is not wrong or bad at all. Wonshik had been thrilled. The real issue was…

“You should’ve used another name!” Jongin whispers-shouts in the kitchen, while they excused themselves to go ‘bring food’. “What if someone asks me about Sehun and I don’t know if it’s the cat or my boyfriend!”

“Well, maybe if you weren’t showering,” Sehun whispers back as calmly as one can. “Okay, but, we never discussed those things!”

Jongin takes out whatever microwaved food they can afford to feed Wonshik right now. Jongin can’t cook with so much stress on.

“You’re right,” Jongin says, sighing and leaning on the counter. “Sorry. I just realized all my friends are coming back and I don’t know how to explain that my cat and my boyfriend are the same person. I don’t want anyone to think I’m dating my cat.”

“...You are,” Sehun points out, eyebrow lifted up. “You literally are.”

“Not like _that_ \- I’m not dating you as a cat!”

“Do you break up with me every time I turn into a cat?” Sehun pouts. “Wow, really - Jongin, you hurt me. You’re hurting my feelings.”

“Oh my God, stop teasing,” Jongin finally breaks into giggles, grabbing Sehun’s arms and bringing him closer as he laughs. “Fine, fine. You win. I guess we’ll figure it out?”

“I’m sure we will, relax,” Sehun pats his cheek softly. Jongin leans a bit into the touch. “Now get to microwaving. I don’t want your friend starving.”

 

“Sorry about the microwaved food,”  Sehun says with a laugh to Wonshik, “Jongin forgot to go out shopping.”

“ _I_ forgot? Sehun, you can go out to buy food too!”

“Mmmm,” Sehun shakes his head. “Sometimes I’m like a lazy cat, you know.”

Wonshik laughs in agreement, but Jongin has a small breakdown. He shouldn’t, though, because not like Wonshik knows Sehun can turn into a cat. But still.

“We all have days like that,” Wonshik sighs. “There were some days where I just wanted to take a break and sleep on my back all day.”

“You did so well, though!” Jongin grins, “I watched all your livestreams! And then watched some fancams online. You did so good!”

Wonshik looks a little shy as he smiles. “Aw, thank you. You guys should’ve come! Jongin, if I had known you had a boyfriend, I would’ve invited you!”

It’s not true. Wonshik _had_ invited him as soon as the concert was announced, but Jongins working schedules were too hard to rearrange around it, so he had to sit out on that one. Still, Jongin says, “ _Only_ because of my boyfriend?”

“He’s nice,” he nods at Sehun, who laughs like a child who pulled the best prank.

“I saw the livestreams too!” Sehun says. Jongin stares at him a bit. He’s so talkative with Wonshik - he’s genuinely interested in everything he has to say. He wishes he had been a human when he met Taemin - they would’ve gotten along so well. “Every time you took off your shirt… wow, incredible, really.”

“Hey!” Jongin looks at him, offended, “What does that mean!”

Sehun and Wonshik laugh like they both planned it. He takes it back. Sehun should’ve been a cat while meeting Wonshik.

Still, Sehun puts an arm around him while he’s laughing, hugging him, so everything is okay again.

Once Wonshik leaves with the promise of meeting with him and Taemin for lunch next week, Sehun sighs happily.

“Your friends are all funny,” Sehun says, jerking his thumb towards the door where Wonshik had just walked out. “I can’t wait for all of them to return.”

“You’ll like my other friends even _more_ ,” Jongin replies excitedly. Sehun would probably like Baekhyun, or Junmyeon… “Maybe so much you’ll go date them. Why don’t you just date Wonshik since his body is so… _wow, incredible_?”

Sehun laughs loudly. He walks over to Jongin, wrapping him in a hug as he sways them from side to side. “Joooooo- _oooongin,_ ” he sing-songs. “Don’t be _jeeeeeeeaaa-looous_!”

Jongin pouts.

Sehun kisses him briefly, which is enough to turn him into a happy machine again, so they both end up doing a little dance while being hugged around their lounge.

“But my abs are fine, right?”

“Yes, Jongin, they look nice.”

“Thank you,” Jongin says. “Yours too.”

Truth is, both of them have a very soft stomach. They’re not going to admit it, but still.

As soon as he’s done dancing, Jongin blinks, and Sehun is back to being a tiny orange cat. He checks the hour - _8pm._ Guess he’ll be sleeping with the cat tonight.

“Come here,” Jongin leans down to pick him up, stroking his fur and scratching behind his ears gently. “We’re going to watch TV.”

Sehun meows in agreement, and that’s how they spend the rest of the night.

**iii.**

It’s been a while since he got lunch with both Taemin and Wonshik at the same time. He’s excited to be squeezed between his friends again, all three of them walking together to their favorite sushi place. They sit down in a little circle, all of them hungry and way too happy to be reunited again. They keep talking over themselves and laughing.

It quiets down in the middle of their loudly-screaming-updates moment when Taemin exclaims, “Have you met Sehunnie?!”

Oh no.

“Yeah, Jongin’s boyfriend!”

“Ye - what?” Taemin’s excited face is immediately replaced by a frown. “Boyfriend? I’m talking about the cat. Jonginnie’s cat.”

“...He doesn’t have a cat?” Wonshik frowns now, too. “He has a boyfriend living with him?”

They both turn to Jongin for an explanation, who’s really busy eating and not replying. Maybe if he eats a bit more, they’ll drop the topic.

“Jongin,” Wonshik says. “I need some explanations.”

“Okay, so,” Jongin begins once he swallows. “I have a boyfriend and a cat.”

“...And,” Taemin presses, “why is he saying your cat is your boyfriend?”

“They’re kinda the same person.”

Taemin looks _horrified_. “You’re dating the _CAT_?”

Jongin hits him on his shoulder. “Shut up! Keep your voice down! I’m not dating any cats!” Except. Well. This is complicated. “He’s a human. He just happens to turn into a cat. Because of a magic spell or something.”

His friends stay silent.

Taemin talks again, “So… he… he turns into a cat. And you just… live with that?”

“Well,” Jongin shrugs uncomfortably. “Human Sehun is really cute.”

Wonshik nods. “I met him! He’s super funny and nice. And he seems very happy with Jongin, so… I don’t mind the cat part. Even if I don’t really believe it.”

“So he’s a human,” Taemin’s eyes widen slowly. “Does he remember what happens to him as a cat?”

“Yeah.”

Taemin is looking terrified once more. “Did he like the nuzzling the other day? Does he hate me? Oh my God. I talked to him like he was a dog. I _baby-talked_ your _boyfriend!_ ”

Jongin laughs despite the situation he’s in. “No, relax, Sehun likes that when he’s a cat. He’s a spoiled cat! And also he says you’re fun, so, everything’s okay.”

Taemin nods. “That’s good. I’m glad he’s not offended. I. What do I do if I meet human Sehun?”

“...Treat him like a human?”

“But do I need to pet him?”

“If you _want_?”

“Jongin.”

“He’s just human,” Jongin says. “You can just… be his friend.”

“...Sounds weird, but okay. Sure. Tell us more about him!”

Once the shock waves off from them, Jongin starts telling them how Sehun stayed to live with him after the thunderstorm, how he promised to pay rent because he _did_ have a job, and how they gradually fell in love.

His friends are way too cute about it, teasing him about Sehun and how whipped he was, and finally lunch goes on as normal with Taemin and Wonshik talking about themselves too.

After a while, Taemin puts his drink down. “It’d be such a good concept for a comeback, though.”

“What is?” asks Jongin.

“Cats,” Taemin smiles. “Doing the choreographies as graceful as a cat. And just have makeup related to it. Sounds cool.”

“ _AOA_ did it already,” Wonshik cuts in.

“They did?”

“They literally have a song called _Like a cat,_ ” Jongin says.

Taemin looks down at his drink like it’s the saddest day of his life.

“Aw.” Taemin takes a sip again. “This sucks.”

 

At home, Sehun welcomes him back with a mug of hot cocoa and blankets on the sofa.

Jongin lets him walk into a hug and then cups his face on his hands. “You’re the _best_.”

Sehun looks shy now, as usual, so his hands find Sehun’s and they walk to the sofa. “How was lunch?”

“Fun,” Jongin replies, sitting down and taking off his glasses. Sehun climbs immediately, legs folded and head naturally finding Jongin’s chest. He puts his arm around him as he continues to talk, “My friends know you’re a cat too, now.”

Sehun tenses up a little. His hands play with Jongin’s jeans, “What did they say?”

“Taemin says he’s sorry about the nuzzling and baby-talking,” Jongin says. “Wonshik says you’re cute.”

“...And that’s it?”

“Oh, Taemin wanted to do a comeback with a cat concept.”

“And…”

“ _AOA_ did it already,” Jongin rubs Sehun’s shoulder to relax it. “And then we just kept talking.”

“...Your friends don’t mind that?”

“Nah. There’s not that much to it? You’re just a magical being.” Sehun doesn’t say anything. “And you fill my life with magic, every day.”

There it is.

Sehun turns his head and hides it in Jongin’s chest, laughing. “You’re so cheesy. Shut _up._ ”

“I love you,” Jongin replies.

Sehun does a noise that sounds like ‘love you too,’ and makes him watch movies with him for hours.

 

**iv.**

“I’m so tired of cleaning,” Sehun moves his shoulders and tilts his head, sighing tiredly. “We’ve been cleaning for hours.”

Jongin stares at him.

“What? I’m allowed to be tired.”

“Sehun.”

“Yes.”

“Tell me who knocked over the glasses? And broke the sandbox? And also knocked over our flower vases? And left the tabs opened? Which one of us was having a _hyped cat day_?”

“I don’t like your tone.”

“ _Sehun_.”

“ _Ah,_  seriously, Kim Jongin. You’re so mean. So mean to your boyfriend. How can you be like that? I’m working just as hard as you are!”

“You really have no shame,” Jongin stares at him with a mix of disbelief and fondness. “You’re unbelievable.”

“No, I _am_ ashamed,” Sehun runs his hand through his hair, and yeah, Jongin knows. He’s been red for an hour or so. “You’re just being _mean._ Isn’t me admitting to my mistakes _enough_? Seriously… I’m so embarrassed…”

“Just keep cleaning,” he ends up saying, fondness taking over his voice as usual. “We can discuss your cat habits later.”

He always says that, but they never do. His words really carry less meaning each time and Sehun knows it, because he immediately smiles again and keeps cleaning like he was never tired to begin with.

Mid-cleaning, their doorbell rings. Sehun opens it up, and behind him, Jongin can see Taemin - his eyes widening immensely and bright grin spreading across his face.

“Sehunnie?!” he exclaims, like he’s seeing his long lost son or something. Beside him, Wonshik nods at Sehun while Taemin continues, “Ah, it _is_ you!”

“Hi,” Sehun says. He sounds shy.

“You look exactly like your cat version,” Taemin grins, cupping Sehun’s face like he’s still a cat. “Wow! I really believe it now!”

Sehun starts laughing, so Wonshik pushes all of them inside. Jongin puts down his mope.

“Hey, it’s cleaning day today,” Jongin says. “I’m not sure why you two came today but now we’re going to clean.”

“Surprise visit,” Wonshik grins. “Should’ve come a bit later.”

“You’re both silly,” Jongin shakes his head. “Now, cleaning.”

 

Poor Sehun got subjected to the world’s longest _what is it like to be a cat_ ? talk. Sehun kept looking over to him, almost like asking for help, but Jongin knows his friends. They’ll _never_ shut up.

At the kitchen, once they’re done cleaning, Sehun looks at the clock and laughs. “Five minutes left as a human. I should scare them.”

“You _should_ ,” Jongin grins immediately, even if he doesn’t know Sehun’s plan. “If you scare Taemin I’m going to love you forever.”

Sehun laughs amusedly. “I better try my best then.” He looks at the hour. “See you later!”

He kisses Jongin and leaves the kitchen. He doesn’t get to see what happened, but he hears Sehun going, “ _Ah, my stomach hurts…_ ” followed by Taemin asking “ _What’s wrong?_ ” and then a horrified gasp.

Jongin comes out of the kitchen with a tray of food to see Wonshik hiding his laughter and Taemin clutching cat Sehun to his chest like his life depended on it.

“ _Jongin_!” Taemin holds the cat the way he’s not supposed to again. “He gave me a heart attack! I almost thought he ascended to cat heaven! He just - he glowed -”

“I know,” he passes Taemin his mug. “Welcome to my life.”

“Sehunnie, you’re lucky you’re cute,” Taemin says, stroking his back, and Sehun immediately wiggles out to go sit with Jongin. “Traitor. He’s a traitor. Sehunnie, I’m never being nice to you again.”

Sehun meows as a response.

“I assume he said he doesn’t care,” Taemin sighs. “Your cat is so mean to me.”

“You’re just bad with cats,” Wonshik says. “Hey, we should make Butt meet up with Sehun. Oh my God. He could _understand_ what he says and then translate his dog language in human language. Oh my _God_ -”

Jongin pets Sehun on his lap and smiles. It’ll be a mess to explain the cat-boyfriend situation to his other seven friends, but for now…

This was a good way to begin.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! lets be friends in [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/) ♡!


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